Shoulder Ink
by placidusXsomnium
Summary: A little drabble that shows how people who aren't good at expressing emotion, deal with the pain of loss. IchigoXRukia. .


**Disclaimer**: If I owned Bleach, I wouldn't be writing this.

Shoulder Ink

It was one particularly sunny day when Kurosaki Ichigo walked into the tattoo parlor. A little bell rang as the young man pulled the heavy glass door open. Two men, old and young but both heavily tattooed, looked up to greet the young ex-shinigami. The older man slid off the bar stool he was perched on and approached Ichigo.

"What can I do for ya, son?"

The orange-haired man replied,

"I want a tattoo."

Looking sideways at him with a grin, the older man said,

"Well, let's see if I can't do that for ya, kiddo."

Ichigo stood in front of the bathroom mirror as he tugged his t-shirt off. He turned and looked at his left shoulder. The skin there was still tender but the redness had faded. Ichigo looked at the image now permanently etched into his body and smiled softly. Even softer, he added, "Perfect…"

For a day in June, it was ridiculously hot. The big-shot weathermen in Tokyo called it one of the hottest days on record. The formal announcement was unneeded though; everyone could feel it well enough. In an effort to escape the scorching heat, Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, Orihime, Tatsuki, Mizuiro, and Keigo had all fled to the beach. Many people had the same idea and soon the hot sand was covered by a wave of even hotter bodies. An older woman, damp with sweat and burdened by a large beach chair, slammed into Ichigo's side in her rush to the shoreline. As easy as it would have been for him to just let the woman bounce off of his hardened, muscled body, it would have looked too unnatural. Instead, he bent to the side a little and allowed her momentum to carry her weight off him as he simultaneously absorbed some of the impact. The woman scurried off, not in the least bit deterred by her collision. Growling a little, Ichigo straightened up in the cloud of annoyance and hot dust left behind by the passerby. He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and sighed. Chad grunted in a wordless acknowledgement of his friend's irritation. Ichigo's darkened thoughts were interrupted by a feminine yelp.

"OK, guys. It's fine with me if you wanna stand here and glare at people but I am way too hot to even think about staying in this heat any longer. I'm going to the water!" Keigo punctuated his remark with another, rather girly shriek and raced off to the cool water of the ocean.

"Are you coming, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Yeah, in a minute Inoue."

Orihime led Chad, Mizuiro, and Ishida down to the shoreline. Ichigo and Tatsuki watched as their friends disappeared into the sea of bodies.

"Are you alright, Ichigo? You seem kind of…off."

The orange-haired boy looked at his friend.

"I'm fine, Tatsuki. Really." He added the last word when she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Well OK. C'mon. Let's go swimming. I feel weird saying this but, Keigo was right. It IS too hot to be standing around. "

Smirking lightly at his friend, Ichigo walked over to where he had laid his towel on the sand. He pulled off his t-shirt and let it fall to the ground. Turning around, words began to fall from his mouth but were quickly silenced by Tatsuki's glare.

"Ichigo, what is that?"

"What is what?" The boy had no idea what she was talking about.

"That." She said, pointing, "The thing on your back."

Oh. Shit. He had forgotten about that. Damn. Tatsuki was going to kill him. Ichigo decided to play dumb.

"What thing on my back?" he asked innocently.

"You know damn well what. Don't give me that crap. I saw it! Now, I will let you live if you explain to me why you have a tattoo."

She continued to speak but he heard none of it. Ichigo sighed, walked up to Tatsuki and turned his back to her, knees bending a little, so she could clearly see the tattoo.

"Look at it."

Annoyed by his interruption, Tatsuki began to yell louder but she stopped and studied it for a minute. Then, comprehension dawned on her. She ghosted her hand over the outline.

"Oh, Ichigo…"

Etched into his left shoulder was a black swallowtail butterfly. It's delicate, latticed wings were half open as if the butterfly was taking flight from its perch. The entire image was no bigger than the palm of Tatsuki's small hand but it was beautifully and intricately crafted. It reminded her of half-forgotten memories of sadness and pain and a magic that should have been kept secret from this world. She gently placed her hand over it and turned Ichigo to face her.

"Oh, Ichigo. I never…I mean…I…I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much…how much you missed her."

She tried to be articulate but emotion choked her voice.

The usually scowling man lifted his head to look her in the eyes. His frown was replaced by a soft smile and he no longer looked as if the world rested on his shoulders. He looked young and vulnerable and peaceful.

"It's OK, Tatsuki. I'm alright now. I... I do miss her. A lot. But, this is how I miss her. "

Feeling stupid and embarrassed, Tatsuki laughed awkwardly. Then Ichigo laughed. Within minutes, the pair was in hysterics with tears streaming down their faces. When the laughter died down, they smiled at each other and an understanding passed between them. No one else needed to know of this moment. It would be their secret. With one last chuckle, the two friends went to join their friends down at the water.

Lying in bed that night, Ichigo smiled as he reminisced about the day. Keigo had forgotten sunscreen and burnt to a crisp. That would keep him silent for a few days. Ishida and Tatsuki had taught Orihime how to do something _other_ than the doggy-paddle, and the rest had a nice, relaxing day. Ichigo rose from his bed with a sharp exhale and stripped his shirt off. He padded silently across the hall to the bathroom. Closing the door and flicking the light switch on, he studied his tattoo for the millionth time under the harsh light. His searched the pattern of the lacy spirals that made up most of the butterfly's wings. Finally, he found what he was looking for. Hidden among the swirls and lace were six, elegant characters. Smiling, Ichigo reached a hand over to it and let his fingers rest over the inscription, holding it. He shut the light and stood in the darkness. The boy let out the breath that he had been holding and with it, exhaled the words that had weighed down his heart for the past few months. "Kuchiki Rukia.

Fin.

**Note**: There. It's done. Thank all of the gods. Just to let you know, dialogue is not my favorite thing to do so if you have any suggestions, either to make my stuff better or just general hints and tips, please review and let me know.


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